Friday Program

47th Annual Abbey Bach Festival
Friday, July 27, 2018

Program and Artists subject to change.

6 PM Abbey Church

Bach Cantata Choir, Ralph Nelson Director

The Bach Cantata Choir's mission is to sing the entire set of cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach over a period of 30 years (view cantatas performed to date). They are a choir of about 50 members plus an orchestra of between 8 to 15 members depending upon the concert.

Composer/conductor Ralph Nelson is in demand as an Artist-in-Residence ​throughout the Portland area. A graduate of Amherst College and subsequently a composition and conducting student of Nadia Boulanger in France, Nelson has served in many capacities since moving to Portland, Oregon over 25 years ago. For 22 years, he was a member of the administrative staff of the Oregon Symphony, and then became Executive Director of the Portland Symphonic Choir. During the summer of 2008, Ralph studied conducting with Helmuth Rilling, Tom Davies and Tim Sawyer at the Oregon Bach Festival in Eugene.

In addition to composing and teaching, Ralph is Choir Director at First Immanuel Lutheran Church in Portland and Director of the Holladay Park Plaza Singers.

Both Ralph and his wife Susan sing with the Portland Symphonic Choir. In the summer, Ralph sings with Mastersingers USA, an all-male group under the direction of former Amherst College Professor Bruce McInnes.

8 PM Damian Center

Pentaedre, woodwind quintet

Strongly committed to refreshing the classical concert concept, Pentaèdre crosses the borders between artistic disciplines and reintegrates performing arts into the concert: musicians become complete artists by performing with dancers, actors, mimes or singers. Their 4 to 7 concerts season may thus include researches, transcriptions, creations, guest ensembles or artists (piano, singers, strings), collaborations or exchanges, works for young audiences as well as staging challenging interdisciplinary projects.

Pentaèdre has worked with such renowned guest artists such as tenors Christoph Prégardien and Rufus Muller, baritones Russell Braun and Phillip Addis, soprano Karina Gauvin and pianists Naida Cole, David Jalbert and Iwan Llewelyn-Jones, while pursuing collaborations with chamber ensembles like Penderecki String Quartet, Molinari Quartet, the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet and I Musici de Montréal. The ensemble has toured extensively across Canada, and also in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.

Their chamber version CD by Normand Forget of Schubert’s Winterreise, was awarded the CD of the Year 2008 Opus Prize – Classical, Romantic, Postromantic, Impressionist Music by the Conseil Québécois de la Musique, and received the exceptional Stern des Monats/Star of the Month from German magazine Fono Forum. They have received excellent reviews for their innovative shows L’amour est un opéra muet and A Chair in Love, and an Opus Prize for Best Concert of the Year, Present, Contemporary, Electro-Acoustic Music in 2002.

Among recent performances were concerts in Belgium, Germany and Israel of a chamber version of Schubert’s Winterreise (by Normand Forget) with tenor Christoph Prégardien ; the stage version première of John Metcalf’s opera A Chair in Love at Cardiff and Swansea Opera Houses (10 concerts in Wales and Ireland); L’amour est un opéra muet (from Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte) with the mime company Omnibus; Numerous shows for young audiences.

The ensemble has recorded 6 CDs and performed more that 25 premières including commissions to Quebec composers such as Ana Sokolovic, Denis Gougeon or Denis Dion. Their season concerts are regularly broadcast on Radio-Canada and CBC.
Pentaèdre is ensemble in residency at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal.

Nothing could be more fun that hearing a group who has been together for a long time - they play intuitively and with sensitivity. Here is an Mozart K458 Allegro assai that demonstrates so well their sense of unity. You won't want to miss this group.

The mission of Mount Angel Abbey and Seminary is grounded in the Benedictine, Roman Catholic faith tradition that shapes our deepest values and way of life. We seek to foster an environment that honors and respects the inherent differences and gifts among our monks, students, faculty, employees, friends and guests. We cultivate a spirit of inclusiveness and respect for others that neither denies nor exaggerates differences.

We are called by the Gospel to embrace the marginalized and break down the privileges that exclude those who are different or disadvantaged. Guided by Church teaching, we celebrate the "transcendent dignity of each human person" and we accept our common duty to make ourselves neighbors to others and actively serve them (Catechism of the Catholic Church, III.3.1).